May 24, 2017

After pulling the All-Star game out of Charlotte this past season due to a discriminatory North Carolina law, the National Basketball Association announced that Charlotte will host NBA All-Star 2019 after that same law was recently amended. The 68th NBA All-Star Game will now take place at Spectrum Center, home of the Hornets, on Sunday, February 17, 2019.

Regarding the announcement of Charlotte as the host of the 2019 All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said:

“For three decades, the NBA has had a home in Charlotte. Generations of families have attended games there, and fans from many different walks of life have come together to share a passion for a team that is an anchor in the community.

We have decided to award NBA All-Star 2019 to Charlotte based on this deep connection and the belief that we can honor our shared values of equality and inclusion, and we are excited to bring the All-Star Game back to Charlotte for the first time in 28 years.

While we understand the concerns of those who say the repeal of HB2 did not go far enough, we believe the recent legislation eliminates the most egregious aspects of the prior law. Additionally, it allows us to work with the leadership of the Hornets organization to apply a set of equality principles to ensure that every All-Star event will proceed with open access and anti-discrimination policies. All venues, hotels and businesses we work with during All-Star will adhere to these policies as well.

Sports have a long history of helping to change attitudes around important social issues. We believe holding our All-Star activities in Charlotte will be a powerful way for the NBA to continue this tradition.”

In other NBA news . . .

Orlando Magic name Jeff Weltman President of Basketball Operations
The Orlando Magic have conveyed a future second round draft pick to Toronto in exchange for immediately releasing Jeff Weltman from his contract to become president of basketball operations of the team.

The Orlando Magic also have named John Hammond general manager, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced.

Hammond brings more than 35 years of coaching and administrative experience to Orlando, including the last nine seasons (2008-17) as general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. During Hammond’s 26 years in the NBA, his teams have made 15 postseason appearances. Weltman served as assistant general manager under Hammond for five seasons (2008-13) and also worked with him in Detroit (2007-08).

"John (Hammond) brings tremendous experience and is a great talent evaluator," said Weltman. "He has experience in everything from day-to-day operations to player development. He built a great team in Milwaukee, and won a championship while in Detroit. We are very fortunate to have him as part of the Magic family."

Hammond was named general manager of Milwaukee on April 11, 2008 and promptly generated an eight-win improvement in his first season and another 12 during his second, earning the 2009-10 NBA Executive of the Year Award.

"We are very excited to join Jeff (Weltman) and be a part of the team in Orlando,” said Hammond. “The Magic are a first-class organization all the way around and we look forward to this tremendous opportunity. I want to thank the ownership in Milwaukee, Wes Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan, for their support and I certainly wish them well.”

Prior to joining the Bucks, Hammond spent seven seasons as vice president of basketball operations with the Detroit Pistons, where he was responsible for directing day-to-day operations of the basketball operations department, handling player personnel issues and assisting in roster development. During his time with Detroit, the Pistons were 330-158 (.676), reached the Eastern Conference Finals six consecutive times (2003-08), made two straight trips to the NBA Finals (2004-05) and captured the NBA World Championship in 2004. In addition to his time as vice president of basketball operations, Hammond also served as director of player personnel, scouting director and assistant coach in two stints with the Pistons.